Chapter 10
Hayes spent two days in UK, pulling strings to get auction access, arriving right at 8:30 PM the night of the event.
Sharp in a black suit, radiating that untouchable wealthy heir energy.
Socialites kept trying to chat him up, but he’d just flash his ring finger and say coolly, “Sorry, I’m engaged.”
They’d slink away after that.
When the sapphire necklace was brought out, the entire room exploded.
The natural sapphires were flawless, crystal clear. Bidding erupted, prices skyrocketing.
“One hundred million!”
“Three hundred million!”
“Five hundred million!”
Hayes waited until the pace slowed, then casually raised his paddle.
“One billion.”
Dead silence. The necklace was his.
His secretary had already booked the red–eye flight home. They left immediately.
On the plane, his secretary kept shooting him looks, clearly wanting to say something. Hayes caught on, his tone sharp: “Spit it out. Stop being weird
about it.”
The secretary pressed his lips together, then finally spoke: “Mr. Hayes, you’re marrying Miss Lennox tomorrow. Maybe you should keep some distance from her sister?”
Hayes looked up, the temperature around him dropping. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
The secretary figured he was in too deep to back down now: “Sir, haven’t you noticed? This past month, whenever you had to choose between Miss Lennox and her sister, you always picked the sister.” _____
“You’re Miss Lennox’s fiancé. Being wishy–washy like this makes her question how you really feel.”
“Forget Miss Lennox–even us staff are wondering… if you’ve fallen for Miss Raina instead.”
Hayes looked genuinely shocked. “You think I like Raina?”
“It’s not just me–everyone thinks so!” The secretary pushed through his nerves. “If you don’t like her, why treat her so well? It’s breaking Miss Lennox’s heart.”
“Because Raina saved my life.”
Hayes rubbed his temples, exhaustion creeping into his voice.
He’d never realized his actions had caused such a massive misunderstanding.
Truth was, he’d felt nothing for Raina at first.
Lennox’s mother died because of Raina’s mother. He’d s
seen how hard life was for Lennox in that house.
15:19
A Billion–Dollar Goodbye: Too Late for Second Chances, Mr. Ex
7.2%
Chapter 10
Anyone who hurt Lennox got it back double. Plus Raina was always clinging to him–he’d been completely fed up with her.
But despite his cold treatment, when that truck came barreling toward him, Raina had shoved him out of the way.
She ended up in a pool of blood. The accident punctured one of her kidneys–they had to remove it, leaving permanent damage.
From that day on, his attitude toward Raina changed.
He knew Lennox hated Raina, so he’d been secretly trying to make it up to her, meeting her requests when he could. He thought he’d been discreet, but apparently Lennox had figured it out.
F
“Raina’s mom killed Lennox’s mother, not Raina,” Hayes said quietly. “And she saved me. I can’t hold the older generation’s sins against her.”
He just wanted Lennox to let go of some of that hatred. Hating someone was exhausting.
“Mr. Hayes,” the secretary said carefully, interrupting his thoughts, “Miss Lennox is actually really good people. Sure, she comes off bratty and demanding, but she never gives us regular staff a hard time.”
“When you’re in a bad mood and none of us dare bring you documents, she’ll take them and say ‘I’ll handle it‘…”
Hayes narrowed his eyes at the secretary’s words, his voice turning cold: “You like her?”
The secretary went silent, cold sweat beading on his forehead, heart hammering. He waved his hands frantically: “No, Mr. Hayes! I don’t like her like that! Miss Lennox helped me out once, so I just want you to treat her better.”
“Besides, you two are childhood sweethearts. Everyone knows you’re the person she’s closest to. I wouldn’t dare have those kinds of thoughts.”
Hayes‘ expression softened slightly. He snorted. “You better not.”
The cabin fell quiet. After a long while, Hayes stared out at the dark sky and suddenly spoke: “You have a point.”
“After the wedding, I’ll make things clear with Raina. Keep my distance going forward.”
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